The annual session of the Georgia state legislature is upon us, and once again there is talk of doing something “big” on transportation. And while most people agree that something big is needed, unfortunately the current proposal at the Gold Dome does not yet provide the sort of balanced approach that Georgians are increasingly demanding.
Specifically, support for transit and other alternatives to driving is at a historic high in Georgia, and growing. Voters in Clayton County recently approved joining MARTA by a nearly 3-to-1 margin. Companies like Coca-Cola and NCR are moving thousands of jobs from suburban office parks to intown locations near rail stations. And, according to recent polling, over 90 percent of metro Atlanta residents agree that transit is important to the region’s future, and over 60 percent of Georgians support a dedicated state funding stream for transit.
So, what does the legislature’s big proposal do for transit? Regrettably, not much. While there has been grand talk of legislators “seeing the light” on transit, it is important to note that the actual bill on the table, HB 170, contains no guaranteed funding for transit. Instead, legislators are promising that money will be allocated separately for transit through the state’s general budget, a notoriously political and unpredictable process.
To be clear, any state funding for transit from the general fund is appreciated by transit advocates. And this actually is not a new idea; GRTA’s Xpress commuter bus system has received an annual allocation from the state for several years. The state budget also routinely funds automobile infrastructure as well — this year’s proposal includes a $23 million line item for a parking garage at the new Atlanta Falcons stadium, for example.
While it is one thing for us to fund transportation projects, be they road or transit, through the state’s general fund, we should be careful not to conflate these relatively small, targeted investments with the 800-pound gorilla of state transportation funding — the motor fuel tax. And it is the future of that critical revenue stream, the gas tax, that is the heart of the conversation about HB 170.
Georgia’s gas tax generates roughly $1 billion annually, a significant amount that, maddeningly, is currently dedicated exclusively to road spending. The HB 170 proposal would roughly double that amount, and without changes to how the tax can be spent, that additional billion would also fund nothing but yet more asphalt.
So, how do we open the gas tax to a balanced program of multimodal transportation investment? There are several possible approaches. The most sure-fire option would be a constitutional amendment that explicitly opens the gas tax to all transportation purposes. Such an amendment would require voter approval in the next general election, but given the ever-increasing public support for multimodal transportation investment, prospects for passage are strong.
If legislators are reluctant to amend the constitution, however, there are other avenues to explore. One would be to re-examine the current interpretation of the constitutional language that governs how the gas tax is spent; it’s possible that this revenue could be opened to multimodal investment by simply clarifying how the transportation system is defined. This approach has been applied successfully in other states, most notably in Colorado.
Finally, a third option would be to retain a portion of the state gas tax as a sales tax, which would not be subject to the constitutional interpretation that restricts funding to roads. Currently, a four-cent sales tax on gasoline is levied by the state; dedicating just one of these pennies to transit would generate nearly $200 million annually.
Whichever approach we pursue, one thing is clear: the state gas tax must be brought in line with the priorities of everyday Georgians, who are increasingly demanding alternatives to sitting in their cars. While continued funding for transit through the general fund helps, that alone will never provide the type of reliable, long-term state support that we need. It’s time for Georgia to get serious about investment in a balanced transportation system. It’s time to open the gas tax.
